Poker Hand of the Week: 10/30/15You Decide What's The Best Play |
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Give us your opinion in the comments section below for your chance at winning a six-month Card Player magazine digital subscription.
Ask any group of poker players how you played your hand and they’ll come up with dozens of different opinions. That’s just the nature of the game.
Each week, Card Player will select a hand from the high-stakes, big buy-in poker world, break it down and show that there’s more than one way to get the job done.
The Scenario
You are heads-up for a major international tournament title and are already guaranteed a €354,440 payday from your initial €25,000 investment. The winner, however, will earn €498,575.
The blinds are currently 80,000-160,000 with a 20,000 ante, and with 9,270,000 in chips, you lead your opponent with 9,230,000 by the slimmest of margins. You have a lot of experience and quite a tournament record, but your opponent is one of the most feared young poker pros in the game today.
You look down at 10
9
on the button and decide to raise to 400,000. Your opponent calls and the flop is J6
3
. Your opponent checks, so you put in a continuation bet of 450,000.
Your opponent makes the call and the turn is the K. Your opponent checks and you check behind. The river is the A and your opponent checks once again. The pot is currently 1,740,000.
The Questions
Do you bluff at this pot, or check behind and give up? Given your opponent’s line, what is his most likely range of hands? Is he likely to fold any of that range? To make a believable bluff, how much do you bet? What kind of hand are you trying to represent? How does the current stack sizes influence your decision?
What Actually Happened
Holding just ten high on a board reading J63KA, Juha Helppi opted to make a bet of 900,000.
His opponent, Canadian poker pro Mike McDonald, thought it over for about a minute before making the call with J7. Helppi showed his bluff and McDonald took the chip lead.
The Finnish poker player ended up finishing in second place, earning €354,440. McDonald picked up the title of EPT Malta high roller champion, along with the €498,575 first-place prize.
What would you have done and why? Let us know in the comments section below and try not to be results oriented. The best answer will receive a six-month Card Player magazine digital subscription.
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